WASHINGTON - Heng Sithy, a Cambodian businessman who drew headlines in recent weeks after accusing a number of senior police officials and members of the ruling family of theft, corruption and fraud, was arrested on Tuesday in Russia.
The immediate reason for the arrest was unknown, but Fresh News, a government-aligned paper, published a statement Tuesday from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying the tycoon’s passport had been revoked.
In December, according to the statement, the Phnom Penh Court issued an arrest warrant for Heng Sithy on a charge of blackmail with aggravating circumstances.
A friend of Heng Sithy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for safety reasons, confirmed his arrest.
The friend shared voice messages in which the tycoon made grandiose claims about his reasons for traveling to Russia, none of which could be independently verified.
“Tomorrow, I am going to Moscow and on Monday I will see Putin’s cabinet regarding drones and will inspect the drones and special forces,” he said on one voice message.
In another, he spoke of the need to continue unspecified plans.
“We must split the work,” he told his friend. “We must convince our working groups to continue the work to establish diplomatic groups and the fighting groups, I will be in charge.”
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Defamation allegations
At 39 years old, Heng Sithy appeared to have achieved the Cambodian dream. In a country where the average income is around $1,500 a year, he was a millionaire and paid all the dues expected of millionaires in a nation defined by its patronage politics.
But last month, following a reversal in his fortunes following what appears to be a business deal gone bad, it seemed something in Heng Sithy cracked.
A disagreement between Heng Sithy and a Singaporean entrepreneur spilled into the courts and then onto social media. As the dispute escalated, Heng Sithy began accusing senior police officials of taking multimillion dollar bribes from the entrepreneur, who he described as running “largest online casino network in Cambodia.”
All denied the allegations. The Singaporean filed a defamation suit and on Dec. 3 the Phnom Penh Court issued an arrest warrant for Heng Sithy on a charge of blackmail with aggravating circumstances.
The same month, he was stripped of his oknha title — an honorific bestowed upon wealthy, charitable and well-connected tycoons. Last week, Hun To, the nephew of the former prime minister, threatened to sue Heng Sithy for alleging that he stole US$9 million from a Chinese investor who sought government approval for a mine.
Prior to his trip to Russia, Heng Sithy worked with his friend to prepare an open letter to Cambodian Prime Hun Manet.
“I have never done anything wrong in business instead I was set up and got robbed [of] my wealth,” he wrote, according to the text shared with RFA.
Cambodia, he added in the unpublished letter, had fallen “into the trap of criminal money when we have such officers in government doing such corruption.”
The open letter closed with a direct appeal to Prime Minister Hun Manet: “Cambodia needs to be in good hands, a country needs a real leader, as a leader if your heart [is]... at the right place all will be good.”
Neither Heng Sithy nor National Police Spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun could be reached for comment.
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Abby Seiff.